Linux From Scratch - Version 7.4-rc1

Chapter 2. Preparing a New Partition

2.3. Creating a File System on the
Partition

Now that a blank partition has been set up, the file system can be
created. LFS can use any file system recognized by the Linux kernel,
but the most common types are ext3 and ext4. The choice of file
system can be complex and depends on the characteristics of the files
and the size of the partition. For example:

ext2

is suitable for small partitions that are updated infrequently
such as /boot.

ext3

is an upgrade to ext2 that includes a journal to help recover
the partition's status in the case of an unclean shutdown. It
is commonly used as a general purpose file system.

ext4

is the latest version of the ext file system family of
partition types. It provides several new capabilties including
nano-second timestamps, creation and use of very large files
(16 TB), and speed improvements.